March 22nd
Good morning. We are continuing to monitor the river and it's flooding. I
will attach a couple pictures that were taking of the Big Sioux River
this morning March 22nd. With the culverts continuing to be some plugged
and being unplugged, t
he road conditions can change literally within
hours. They can go from being under water to clear or vice versa
quickly.
We know that the river is going to be sustained at a high flood
level for at least a couple weeks. Please use common sen
se
went out driving and do not drive around barricades. Be alert when
you're out and about so that you can notice there's water over the road
ahead of you. Our ultimate goal is your safety and protection, that
being said we need to be able to respond to emergencies that come into
our office. Not self-induced emergencies because someone goes around a
barricade and becomes trapped in a vehicle and water. Please have a good
weekend and continue to monitor the river and adjust your plans
accordingly or be willing to take action if needed because you live
close to the river.
Just
heard from
Colman Township board members. They are also advising no
travel on their roads. They are experiencing
water over the road in
many places because of bull ditch and culverts that are still blocked or
plugged. I have attached a p
icture of what 467th Avenue looks like
between 231st and 232nd St. Looks like. Please use common sense as we
all work through the issues with flooding in some form over the next
several weeks.
Today's day shift has been driving around and trying to give updates to the Emergency Manager on all the roads that are under water or have flowing water over them. This is what we know. There are a couple places that within an hours time frame there have been clear, dry roads that have gone to having water over them. The road conditions are changing quickly and often, depending on snow melt, blocked or clear culverts, etc. We are asking that you continue to be alert when driving on any road surface in the county but especially the county paved and gravel roads as well as all all township gravels. Many township boards are either out or running low on signs to warn people of the dangers ahead or road closed signs.
To our knowledge, Lynn Township is still under a no travel advised and as of today Enterprise Township is also issuing a no travel advised due to flooding and washed out roads.
This type of flooding is very uncertain and not a like a "normal" flooding, if there is such a thing. With the warm weather expected at the end of this upcoming week, we will be dealing with the "normal" flooding soon enough. This is at least more predictable, as it usually occurs along creeks and rivers. We know that we went into fall very wet with a high river level. With all the snow melt that will happen over the next 7-10 days, the ground still at least partially frozen, and the knowledge of it being saturated, already has us prepping for a long spring.
This is shaping up to be one of those winters that things get compared to. To my knowledge, as well as a lot of the people that I run into during the day, the last winter that was extremely tough was 1996-1997 and before that was 1968-1969 winter. Not saying that there were not bad stretches in any of the other years, but these two are remembered for the large amount of snow days, the missed school days, and overall just the ability to not get into or out of your residence.
Please make decisions using common sense and safety as a leading factor so your poor decision doesn't become our emergency.
#Letsmakecommonsensecommonagain!!
